Vol. 555 No. 2
374 Mr. Penrose asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if his Department will provide the funding for the installation of a closed circuit television system in Mullingar, County Westmeath; if he is considering other ways, other than direct grant aid, of helping communities who urgently require the installation of closed circuit television, to proceed with the installation of same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18363/02]
I refer the Deputy to my predecessor's response to Question No. 499 of 7 March 2002 in relation to the installation of a Garda CCTV system in Mullingar. Correspondence was subsequently received asking that the decision be reviewed. This correspondence was forwarded to the advisory committee whose views in this regard are currently awaited. I will consider the matter further upon receipt of these views. The Deputy may wish to note that, subject to the availability of funds, the 17 locations set to receive new Garda CCTV systems over the next two years have already been decided upon and publicly announced. The locations are, in alphabetical order, Athlone, Ballyfermot, Bray, Carlow, Castlebar, Clondalkin, Clonmel, Dundalk, Dún Laoghaire, Ennis, Finglas, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Sligo, Tallaght and Waterford.
Some applications for CCTV systems received by the advisory committee relate to relatively small schemes which, while of importance to the local community, cannot be regarded as a national Garda priority. A grant scheme has been launched to facilitate community based groups who wish to install their own local CCTV system. Grant assistance of up to €100,000 will, subject to the availability of funds, be obtainable from my Department towards the cost of such schemes. It will be up to the community groups, in conjunction with the relevant local authority, to install, maintain and monitor the community-based CCTV schemes. To qualify for grant aid, certain minimum standards will have to be met and the gardaí will have to be allowed access to grant-aided systems as and when they require it. A prospectus has been prepared by my Department which provides information on how to apply for grant aid funding, outlines the application process and identifies the main issues that applicants will need to consider. Copies of this are available upon request from the Garda administration division of my Department.
